5.5-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Peruvian Andes, Leaves Five Dead

A 5.5‑magnitude earthquake struck Peru’s Andes region on Saturday, resulting in at least five fatalities, according to authorities. Over 20 individuals were injured, and roughly 300 people have been displaced.

The US Geological Survey indicated the tremor occurred Saturday at 9:24 p.m., with its epicenter situated 2 km (1.24 mi) west‑south‑west of Sicaya in Huancayo Province, at a depth of 10 km (6.21 mi).

Peru’s National Civil Defence Institute noted in a statement that the count of missing remains uncertain. Numerous structures, including a local church and convent, have collapsed or incurred structural damage.

Luis Vásquez, head of the local civil defence office, told journalists that the use of rustic adobe materials in construction in that Andean area “has contributed to the greater impact and damage”.

Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, which is located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Footage broadcast by local media captured the distress of victims’ relatives in one of the hardest‑hit zones, the agricultural region of Chongo Bajo, where residents huddled beneath blankets amid severely damaged homes. Livestock were also observed beneath the rubble.

“My home has been destroyed,” Hermenegilda Guamalato told a local radio station while seeking shelter for her three children in neighboring Huayucachi Province.

In 2007, a 7.9‑magnitude earthquake struck Pisco Province in the Ica Region, claiming nearly 600 lives.

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